Bruce Tyrrell awarded AO

Hunter Valley winemaker Bruce Tyrrell has been honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's birthday honours list.

He joins his father, Murray, along with Wolf Blass and Len Evans as recipients of the AO, which is based on nominations from the Australian public.

Tyrrell, whose best-known wine is probably his Vat 1 Semillon, was commended for his service to the Australian wine industry through contributions to the improvement of grape quality, research, tourism and the development of

export opportunities'.

He said: It is a tremendous honour to receive this merit. I work in a fascinating industry, where you come in contact with an incredible array of talented and charismatic individuals. The award is testament to Tyrrell's commitment as a company to wine quality and regionality, which we communicate in our markets across the world.

Both personally and corporately, I am driven by a passion to show consumers in the UK and globally that Australia can over-deliver in every price bracket.'